US Army’s First Drone Grenade Drop Draws Criticism Over Outdated Tactics
A video posted Monday by the U.S. Army on its official X account intended to highlight a new capability but instead drew criticism for showcasing what many see as an outdated tactic: dropping grenades from small drones.
The footage, since deleted, was captioned, “Have you ever seen a drone drop a grenade?” It showed soldiers from the 7th Army Training Command (7th ATC), Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine (JMTG-U), and the 173rd Airborne Brigade using a commercial quadcopter to drop M69 practice grenades and M67 fragmentation grenades.
The demonstration took place at Germany’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, the Army’s largest training site in Europe.
“It was the first live ordnance drop from a small UAS for [the] conventional Army,” Maj. Philip Draper, a brigade aviation officer with JMTG-U said in the video. “That’s a big step for 7th ATC and the 173rd.” Col. Donny Hebel, head of JMTG-U, described the test as part of efforts to “extend ourselves beyond what we’re currently capable of doing.”
Critics quickly pointed out that groups like ISIS have been using grenade-dropping drones since the Battle of Mosul in 2016, and the tactic is now common in Ukraine’s war front.
Open-source military account @Osinttechnical commented on X: “It’s a bit concerning that the U.S. took over three years to begin deploying a tactic that Ukrainian soldiers were doing just a few days after Russia invaded.” The post also noted that the drone used in the test costs about $15,000, significantly more than the low-cost quadcopters commonly used for grenade drops in Ukraine.
Tyler Rogoway, editor-in-chief of The War Zone, weighed in: “I’ve been criticized for constantly calling out the Pentagon for senseless delays when it comes to the risks and opportunities of drone warfare. This official post is all you need to know. It’s 2025. Mosul was nearly nine years ago.”
In a press release earlier this month, the Army said the initial field test was meant to gather feedback to improve future training.
The Army reportedly plans further testing at Grafenwoehr, including trials with 3D-printed drop mechanisms, as part of broader efforts to integrate small unmanned systems into conventional operations.
